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"They call this place the Bermuda Triangle of Transylvania," states a tour guide, the air from his lungs forming puffs of vapor in the cold night air. "Countless individuals have vanished here, some say there's a gateway to a different realm." Marius is guiding a traveler on a nocturnal tour through frequently labeled as the planet's most ghostly grove: Hoia-Baciu, a section spanning 640 acres of old-growth local woods on the edges of the Romanian city of Cluj-Napoca.

A Long History of the Unexplained

Reports of strange happenings here extend back hundreds of years – the grove is named after a regional herder who is reportedly went missing in the distant past, together with two hundred animals. But Hoia-Baciu came to international attention in 1968, when a defense worker known as Emil Barnea took a picture of what he reported as a unidentified flying object floating above a circular clearing in the heart of the forest.

Countless ventured inside and never came out. But rest assured," he continues, facing the traveler with a smirk. "Our guided walks have a flawless completion rate."

In the decades since, Hoia-Baciu has attracted yoga practitioners, spiritual healers, extraterrestrial investigators and paranormal investigators from across the world, interested in encountering the mysterious powers said to echo through the forest.

Current Risks

It may be among the planet's leading hotspots for lovers of the paranormal, the grove is under threat. The outlying areas of Cluj-Napoca – a contemporary technology center of a population exceeding 400,000, described as the Silicon Valley of Eastern Europe – are advancing, and real estate firms are pushing for authorization to clear the trees to erect housing complexes.

Except for a limited section housing regionally uncommon Mediterranean oak trees, this woodland is not officially protected, but the guide believes that the initiative he co-founded – a dedicated preservation group – will contribute to improving the situation, persuading the local administrators to acknowledge the forest's importance as a visitor destination.

Eerie Encounters

As twigs and fall foliage split and rustle beneath their boots, Marius describes various local legends and reported ghostly incidents here.

• A popular tale tells of a little girl disappearing during a family picnic, then to return half a decade later with no recollection of the events, without aging a day, her garments lacking the slightest speck of dust.
• More common reports explain cellphones and camera equipment inexplicably shutting down on entering the woods.
• Emotional responses range from full-blown dread to feelings of joy.
• Some people state observing strange rashes on their bodies, hearing ghostly voices through the woodland, or sense hands grabbing them, even when sure they are alone.

Scientific Investigations

While many of the accounts may be unverifiable, there are many things visibly present that is certainly unusual. Everywhere you look are vegetation whose trunks are bent and twisted into fantastical shapes.

Various suggestions have been proposed to clarify the deformed trees: powerful storms could have bent the saplings, or naturally high radiation levels in the earth account for their unusual development.

But scientific investigations have discovered insufficient proof.

The Famous Clearing

Marius's excursions permit guests to engage in a little scientific inquiry of their own. Upon reaching the meadow in the woods where Barnea photographed his well-known UFO pictures, he gives the visitor an electromagnetic field detector which measures EMF readings.

"We're venturing into the most active part of the forest," he states. "Try to detect something."

The vegetation abruptly end as they step into a perfect circle. The single plant life is the low vegetation beneath the ground; it's apparent that it's not maintained, and appears that this bizarre meadow is wild, not the result of human hands.

Between Reality and Imagination

The broader region is a area which inspires creativity, where the border is unclear between truth and myth. In traditional settlements belief persists in strigoi ("screamers") – supernatural, shapeshifting bloodsuckers, who rise from their graves to terrorise regional populations.

Bram Stoker's renowned vampire Count Dracula is forever associated with Transylvania, and the legendary fortress – an ancient structure perched on a cliff edge in the mountain range – is actively advertised as "Dracula's Castle".

But despite myth-shrouded Transylvania – actually, "the place beyond the forest" – feels real and understandable in contrast to the haunted grove, which appear to be, for factors nuclear, atmospheric or purely mythical, a nexus for human imaginative power.

"In Hoia-Baciu," Marius states, "the division between truth and fantasy is remarkably blurred."